San Gimignano, Italy

Many towns, such as San Gimignano, were enclosed with walls, causing crowding and the building of tower houses. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My favorite city in the world is San Gimignano, Italy. It is a medieval walled town in Tuscany not to be missed. When I first saw this town it was 1985 and there were very few tourists. Today the tour busses line up outside the wall. Even with all the tourists it’s a great town. Get off the main streets, where the tourists exist, and see the back streets of San Gimignano. On one wall there is an Alfresco Restaurant with dinning on the wall overlooking Tuscany and Chianti country. This city is near Florence and not far from Pisa. There are wineries outside the city that are great. They are peoples homes with tastings in the kitchens. Yes Gucci has arrived in this town but it still offers an unspoiled look at early Italian life. Have lunch in the piazza or better yet spend a night and walk the main streets after the tourists have climbed aboard their buses and left.